WILDER, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University men's soccer team overcame a hard-luck goal late in the first half to post a 3-1 victory over Missouri S&T in Great Lakes Valley Conference action on Sunday.
Mike Jonca got the scoring started for the Norse (7-0, 3-0 GLVC) after a foul just outside the 18-yard-box forced a free-kick opportunity in the 20th minute. The junior transfer from Detroit-Mercy was able to bend the ball around the wall and catch the top corner of the goal for his first marker of the season.
Bad luck struck for the Norse just four minutes later when Nick Mentesana sent a cross into the box for the Miners (3-4-1, 2-1-1 GLVC), but as NKU goalkeeper
Michael Lavric leapt to snare the ball, it took a strange bounce into the goal for Mentesana's first of the year.
Steven Beattie regained the lead for good for NKU in the 60th minute, as a strong throw-in by
Anthony Meyer fell right to Beattie's strong right foot for a blast from 15 yards. The goal was Beattie's ninth of the season to keep him among the nation's top goal scorers.
The freshmen got in the mix late in the game when
Alex Oeswein netted his first of the season after a clean cross by
Zach Roesch. Oeswein's shot came from the left side across the goal to beat S&T's Pat McNamee for the insurance marker.
Lavric made three saves in the win for Northern Kentucky, while McNamee had eight stops in the Miners' net.
Northern Kentucky extends its regular-season winning streak to 29 games with the victory. Sunday's game marks the first time the Norse have given up goals in consecutive games since Aug. 31 and Sept. 2, 2007, when Findlay (4-1) and Tiffin (2-1) each notched goals in NKU wins.
The Norse hit the road next weekend to face Drury and Rockhurst.
